My Choice, the Short Film

“My Choice” is the proposed anthem on women empowerment directed by Homi Adjania. The declarations are definitely very bold. Lots of counters have already been made, which have actually helped this video gain more publicity. But, let’s see how deeply thought of it is.

The first choice is to WEAR CLOTHES while allowing the spirit to roam naked. I find it quite OK. However, if the message were to not to wear clothes, I would have condemned it because the clothes we wear are the symbols of civilizational and cultural development we have undergone, and now there is no looking back towards the Stone Age. I don’t understand the word “Spirit”; in fact, I think there is no logical or scientific basis for it; the compromise understanding would be to equate it with enlightened consciousness; and, with this understanding, the naked spirit would mean a consciousness which is not trapped in religions, laws, mores, relationships, peer pressures, etc., which is fine.

The second choice is to be comfortable with one’s body weight and fitness. Well…I believe in “Sweat it like Pig” (actually the reference to pig here is pig iron, but for my purpose, it is pig, the animal). I would appreciate a pig for just trying, but sweating is important. if the message is to try without getting frustrated, the declaration seems to be fine.

The third choice is the orientation towards sex and marriage. I have a problem with clubbing the choice to marry with sex. Personally, I feel marriage is an obsolete concept, and, but for children, it is unnecessary. So if, at all, it has to be clubbed with anything, it should be children, not sex. Anyways, I think lots of unnecessary importance has been given to sex in man-woman relationships, which has reduced women into sex objects, for the males have dominated the relationships for ages now. I don’t know whether this declaration about sex helps women in any manner, but the declaration is correct. Lots of debate has arisen about adultery in the context of this declaration. This debate is a ramification of the patriarchal structure we live in. Under the marriage law, adultery is a ground for divorce for both men and women; however, under criminal law, a male entering into an adulterous relationship with a married woman is guilty of the offense of adultery, which is basically a punishment for intruding into the property rights of a man over his wife because the offense doesn’t operate vice versa; i.e., an outsider woman entering into an adulterous relationship is not punished similarly, and nor is the husband punished for adultery. However, fortunately, Indian courts have held that a wife shall also not be punished for adultery. So, the only offender is the outsider man. The choices made in the video are already available to the women in India under law, but with a rider that the exercise of the choice of adultery by a married woman puts the outsider man into a risk under law, so her own choice gets restricted this way. ACTUALLY WHAT IS REQUIRED IS THE CHOICE TO AN OUTSIDER MAN TO COMPLIMENT THE CHOICE OF A MARRIED WOMAN TO ENTER INTO ADULTERY, which is missing at present.

The fourth and fifth choices are about love. Here, the declarations are completely confused. “To love temporarily, or to lust forever.” I don’t know how to decide the duration of love or to pre-plan love. Either you love or you don’t love, and mostly you do love. And, where is the choice between love and lust. The two have no connection unless love is equated with sex. And, how can one decide to love only man or woman. Of course,one loves the parents of both sex, the siblings of both sex, the friends of both sex, the relations of both sex, and even the pets of both sex. So, what’s this all about? If the choice has been influenced by the love as defined by gays, it is stillborn.

All other choices are not independent choices but the ones influenced by the perceived and/or the existing inferior position of women in relation to men. These choices are influenced by a superiority complex, thus have to be ignored. “[D]on’t get cocky”: I have never seen a man getting cocky about his wife, it’s always other way round. Dhoni, Goerge Clooney, Barack Obama : Saina Nehwal, Meryl Streep, Margaret Thatcher. Make your analysis: who is lusted for the most.

My Conclusion: Overall, the anthem fails because it is not comprehensively appealing and, in parts, influenced by a superiority complex.

The transcript of the video “My Choice” is reproduced below:

My body, my mind, my choice

To wear the clothes I like; even if my spirit roams naked

My choice; to be a size 0 or a size 15

They don’t have a size for my spirit, and never will

To use cotton and silk to trap my soul is to believe that you can halt the expansion of the universe

Or capture sunlight in the palm of your hand

Your mind is caged, let it free

My body is not

Let it be

My choice

To marry, or not to marry

To have sex before marriage, to have sex out of marriage, or to not have sex

My choice

To love temporarily, or to lust forever

My choice

To love a man, or a woman, or both

Remember; you are my choice, I’m not your privilege

The bindi on my forehead, the ring on my finger, adding your surname to mine, they’re all ornaments and can be replaced

Express Your Love

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About the Author

Ankur Mutreja is an advocate-cum-writer, and his blogs are amongst his modes of expression. He has also authored six books: "Kerala Hugged"; "Light: Philosophy"; "Flare: Opinions"; "Sparks: Satire and Reviews"; "Writings @ Ankur Mutreja"; and "Nine Poems"; which can be downloaded free from the links on the top menu.